Slack-adjuster for car-brakes.



c. HARTER n. WARK. SLACK ADJUSTER 'FOR CAR BRAKES.

.APPLlc'TloN FILED Mov. a. 1915.

v Patented July 25, 1916.

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SLACK ADJUSTER F03 CAR BRAKES. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 8. 1915.

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Paeted July 25; 1915.

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develop in the CHARLES HARTER, 0F ST. LOUIS, .AND`ROBERT WARK, 0F MAPLEWOOD, MISSOURI.

sLAcK-ADJUSTER `noia CAR-BRAKES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenten .any 25, 191e.

Application led November 8, 1915. Serial No. 60,270.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES HARTER and ROBERT WARK, citizens of the United States, residing at St. Maplewood, Missouri, respectively, have invented a certain new and useful .Improvement in Slack-Adjusters for Car-Brakes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will make and use the same, reference being had to the ur invention relates generally to the air brake systems of railway cars and more particularly to a slack adjuster, that is,'a device for taking up the slack in power operated lbrakes so that the travel of the piston in the power cylinder will always be substantially the same, regardless of the wear upon the brake shoes 0r the lost motion which may brake rigging.

he principal object of our invention is to provide comparatively simple, inexpensive and effective slack adjusting means which can be readily combined with the brake rigging now in general use upon rail-v way cars, and which adjusting means is adapted .to be manually yoperated from the side of the car when an adjustment is made, thus obviating the necessity for a person making adjustments, to pass between or beneath cars in order to reach the adjustable parts of the device. j

e are aware that there are numerous form of slack adjusters which are autoof a portion of a car truck and showing our improved slack Louis, Missouri, and

enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

adjuster positioned thereupon and connected to one of the dead levers of the brake rigging. Fig. is an enlarged sectional view taken approximately on the line 2 2 of Fig; 1 and showing a portion of the adjusting means in elevation. Fi L 3 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 3-3 Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a modified form of the slack adjuster. Fig. 5 is a perspective View' of one of the parts which serves as a fulcrum for the dead lever. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a further modied form of the adjusting device. Figa/ is ^`an enlarged side elevational view of the inodd construction seen in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is an elevational view looking in the direction indicated by the arrow 8 in Fig. 6.

eferring by numerals to the accompanyingldrawings, and particularly the form of device illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, l0 designates the truck bolster, 11 the upbralre beam, and 13 the usual dead lever which is pivotally connected to the brake beam or to a positioned thereupon. Fixed in any suitable t e same being preferably inclined to cor- Positioned directly over the arm 17 andv legs 18 is a member which comprises a pair of substantially parallel legs 20 which lie at the sides of the ears 15 and said legs are provided with longitudinally disposed slots 2l which receive the ends of the pin 16.

Formed integral with the legs 20 is an elongated housing 22 which is substantially of inverted U-shape in cross section and which overlies the parallel legs in the lower portions ofthe sides of this inbetween said ears is one end of am arm 17 the outer end 18. Formed This arm 17 A verted U-shaped'm'ember are longitudinally disposed slots l therefrom are-notches'24, the same being arunites with the legs20r isk an ear 25, and

pivotally connected thereto is one end of ay link 26. The other end of this linkis journaled on a wrist-pinor trun'nionwhich projects from the face of a disk 27, the latter being fixed on the innerv end of ashaft 28. This shaft extends from the plate 14 to a point slightly beyond the arch bar 11 and is journaled in bearings 29'andy 29` which are formed on said plate and arch bar respectively. A f

The outer end of shaft 28 is preferably made square or non-circular in order toreceive a-wrench or like tool, which may be utilized in imparting-rotary motion to said shaft. When this form of adjusting device is utilized, the fulcrum pin-13a on the upper end of the dead lever 13 occupies corresponding pairs of -the notches 19 vand 24 in the legs 18 and member 22. When it becomes necessary to shift the fulcrum of the dead lever to compensate for wear upon the brake shoes or for slack which has developed in the brake rigging,

to the side of the car places a wrench It will be understood that the parts of the adjusting tions as illustrated in Fig. 1 and when sha 28 is thus rotated, member 22 and ylegs 2O will be first moved toward the left hand -member will be elevated slightly `the teeth between vverted U- haped member to vpass over and thence toward the right hand. The legs 20 being slotted permit this reciprocating movement and as said member moves toward the left hand, fulcrum pin 13a will be moved a distance of one notch during which movement the free ends of legs 18 will be slightly elevated to permit the fulcrum pin to pass the teeth between two of the notchesI in said legs.- drops into the next adjacent 19, the member 22 completes its movement toward the left hand and during the return movement, or to bring said member and the legs 20 to normal position, the reciprocating to permit the notches 24: in the infulcrum pin 18a. When this operation has been accomplished, the f-ulcrum pin will be located a distance of one notch from the point it previously occupied, and which operation necessarily takes up a certain amount of slack in the brake rigging. This operation can be repeated from time to time as it becomes necessary to take up slack in the brake rigging and said 4operation can be ac- ;23: and extending upwardly an operator positionedy 0l. suitable tool on the outer end of shaft`28- 'and rotates the same one complete turn.

mechanism normally occupy posi-v 'l ft. more links.

As fulcrum pin pair of notches complished with perfect safety by the operator, by reason of the fact that said operator is not obliged to passbetween orbeneath the cars to effect the necessary adjustments.

In the modified construction illustratedv iny Fig.' 4, the legs 20 are extended to formears 20il to which the link 26 is pivotally connected. Necessarily this construction shifts the position of the shaft 28 from one side of the bolster to the other.

In the modified construction illustrated in Figs. 6 to inclusive, the upper end of the dead lever is connected to one end of a chain 30 which passes around a groovedpulleyl located at ythe outer end of a slotted bracket 32. This bracket is fixed to the bolster and serves as a guide for the upper end of the deadlever; -From said pulley 31 the chain passes around a second pulley 33,.thesaine being journaled on the base of' bracketk 32 and from this last mentioned pulley` the chain is extended outward through a cross shaped opening 34, the same being formed in a bracket 35 which is fixed in any suitable A manner to the upper arch bar of the truck side frame. Normally, the outer end of the chain occupies the lower 'end of the crossshaped opening 34 as illustrated in Figs.7 and 8 with one of the links of said chain arranged 'cross-wise of said opening. TD take up slack with this form of device, it is' onlyT necessary to elevate the free end of the chain to bring the same into the upl er portion of the cross-shaped opening an to pull said chain outward a distance of one or This operation necessarily shifts the fulcrum point of the dead lever and takes up whatever slack which may '105` have developed in the brake rigging.

A s lack adjuster .of our improved construction is comparatively simple, can be readily applied to the various forms of brake rigging now in general use, is positive and effective in operation, and canbe manipulatedfrom la point alongside the 'car or truck to which it is applied.

In practice, we do not intend to confine ourselves to the details of construction herein illustrated and described, as the various parts of thedevice can departing from the spirit and principle of our invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims. i

We claim: y

1. In a slack adjuster for railway brakes, the combinationl with a car truck and the b rake rigging associated therewith, which rigging includes va deadv lever, of means mounted on the bolster ofthe truck for shifting the fulcrum of said dead lever, a portion of which means extends tothe side ofv said carV truck. I

2. In a slack adjuster for railway brakes, the combination with a truck and the brake be modified, without rigging associated therewith, which rigging includes a dead lever, of means mounted on the bolster of the truck and connected to said dead lever for shifting the position of thefulcrum thereof, and means extending to the side of the car truck for actuating said fulcrum `shifting means.

3. In av slack adjuster for railway brakes, the combination with a truck and the brake rigging associated therewith, which latter includes a dead lever, of a guide for the upper end of the dead lever which guide is mounted upon the truck bolster, and means associated with said guide for shifting the fulcrum of said lever, which shifting means is operable from the side of the car truck.

4er/In a slack adjuster for railway car brakes, the combination with a truck and the brake rigging associated therewith,.which latter includes a dead lever, of manually operated means mounted on the truck bolster and side frame for shifting the position of the fulcrum of said dead lever.

5. In a slack adjuster for railway. car brakes, the combination with a truck and the brake rigging associated therewith, which latter includes a dead lever, of adjustin means mounted on the bolster of the truc for engaging the upper end of the dead lever, and manually operable means extending t'o the side of the truck frame for actuating the first mentioned means.

6. In a slack adjuster for railway car brakes, the combination with a truck and the brake rigging associated therewith, which latter includes a dead lever, of a member supported by the truck bolster and provided with notches which are adapted to receive the fulcrum pin of the dead lever, and manually operable means extending t0 the side of the truck frame for shifting the position of said notched member.

7 In a slack adjuster for railway car brakes, the combination with a truck and the brake rigging associated therewith, which latter includes a dead lever, of a pair of members provided with notches which are adapted to receive the fulcrum in of the dead lever, and manually opera le means extending to the side of the truckr frame for actuating one of said. members.

8. In a slack adjuster for railwa car brakes, the combination with a truc and the brake rig g associated which latter inc all operable means supported by the truck `bolster and the truck side frame for adjust- 1n therewith, udes a dead lever, of manu- 1ing the normal langular position of the dead ever.

9. In a slack adjuster for railway car brakes the combination with a truck and the brake rigging Vassociated therewith, which latter includes a dead lever, ofa manually operable exible connection between the dead lever and the side of the truck frame for adjustingv lthe fulcrum of said dead lever which iiexible connection is supported by the truck bolster and truck side frame.

10. The combination with a railway car truck and the brake rigging associated therewith, of means supported by the. truck bolster and manually operable from the side of' said truck for taking up the slack in said rigging.

11. In a slack adjuster-for railway car brakes, a pair of notched members adapted to coperate and form a bearing for. the ful'- crum pin ofthe dead lever of said brake rigging.

12. In a slack adjuster for railway car brakes, a pair of notched members adapted to coperate and form a bearing for the fulcrum pin of the dead lever of said brake rigging, and means extending to the side of the car truck for actuating one of said members to shift the fulcrum pin of the dead lever.

13. The combination with a car truck and the brake rigging associated therewith, of a notched member. supported by the bolster of the truck and adapted to serve a's a bearing for the fulcrum pin of the dead lever .of said rigging,

and means for manually V operating said member from the side of the brakes, the combination with a truck and the brake rigging associated therewith, which latter includes a dead lever, a member supported by the truck bolster and forming a fulcrum for 'said dead lever, a shaft v supported by the truck bolster and extend` ing to the side of the truck, and connections from said shaft to the fulcrum member whereby the position ofthe latter is shifted when said shaft is rotated. l

In testimony whereof we hereunto alix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses, this 6th day of November, 1915.

' CHARLES HARTER.

ROBT. WARK. 

